Bed and Breakfast Diary
Here we will keep you up to date with what's new at Duntrune.
Dec 2009
This year has just disappeared “like sna’ aff a dyke” as my mother would say (translation – like melting snow falling off a wall) In spite of all the economic problems we have been as busy as ever and enjoyed having both new and returning guests from all over the world. Indeed, some have already booked up for 2010.
We have two new members of the family. Olwyn’s sister’s son had a little boy, Rory, in March and her brother’s son had a little girl, Caelin, in May. They all live down South and last week we paid a flying visit. They no longer look like babies and are really showing their personalities.
Since October, we have managed to do quite a bit of work in the garden. We are re-doing the flowerbed round by the bee boles and in the meantime, it is covered in black sheeting to kill off weeds. We are discussing the best way forward in our battle with the rabbits. Short of putting in a five foot high fence (they seem to manage to leap over anything less) we don’t know how to thwart them. Any suggestions?
We have cleared a lot of Rhododendron Ponticum in the wood and now that we can see the trees, we are starting to trim them back to their proper shapes.
Our splendid quince crop has produced jars of the clearest pale orange jelly – fit enough to win any competition, I reckon. Not much luck with beetroot, red cabbage or cauliflower this year and the birds pinched the blueberries before we could harvest them. The gooseberries fell to caterpillars. However, beans, celery, raspberries, brambles, apples and plums all flourished, as did the polytunnel’s tomatoes and peppers. You win some, you lose some! I wonder what surprises we will have next year?
There will certainly be some surprises for those making a return visit to Dundee. Most of this year the centre has been in turmoil with reconstruction taking place. The city is to be reunited with its waterfront. Tayside House (the multi storey administration block, known locally as Fawlty Towers) is to be demolished. An outpost of The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is to be erected – though I’m not quite sure where- and will be an added visitor attraction along with our own newly refurbished McManus Galleries due to reopen next year.
The city is being rebranded as One City – Many Discoveries. I prefer the original City of Discovery, which emphasises our maritime history, and linked with Captain Scott’s ship, the Discovery, built in Dundee, and berthed here. I will not be redoing the sound track on our video – see our home page.
I hope you enjoy reading the Duntrune Diary – shrunk from monthly to occasional entries. Another New Year Resolution bites the dust. My excuse - we are increasingly busy enjoying the company of all you visitors!
Haste ye back!
May 2009
It’s rhododendron time at Duntrune and the garden is ablaze with colour. Rhodies are the one plant we have that is shunned by the rabbits. - though I did notice that earlier in spring they gave the daffodils a wide berth.
Spring! – what a mixture of climate. At the end of March and well into April, we could comfortably garden in shirtsleeves. Recently it was back to winter woollies and raincoats. Today has been sunny and warm and we would have liked to enjoy our views, smell the flowers, be amused by the birds (yellow hammers have taken up residence) and enjoyed eating our homegrown lettuce. However, we had booked a place on a workshop with the Tourism Innovation Group, looking at how businesses in the Tourism sector could support each other more. Specifically we were looking at collaboration between accommodation providers and Museums and Art galleries. It was an inspirational afternoon and many innovative ideas were put forward. It was good to be in the company of like- minded, forward- looking people. Hopefully, I will be able to write soon about how these ideas are coming to fruition.
Speaking about fruition, we are delighted with our success in the poly-tunnel and the fruit cage. Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers are progressing well and the blossom on the fruit trees and bushes makes us think we will have a good crop. Our bees are relishing the food store. The skep they favoured obviously became over crowded and we have had three swarms that have happily settled in hives provided by Andy the gardener. They are indeed contented bees because Andy didn’t have to take any precautions while handling them – or maybe his calm nature rubbed off on them.
Further work in the garden has led to us marking a “wellie” walk in the wet field. We now have a map of all the paths you can wander along and I’m trying to identify the wild flowers in the field and in the wood – we could call it the bluebell wood at the moment so prolific are these Scottish flowers.
The collaboration with The Retreat is successful to the extent that we are offering these breaks at any time. In trying to find diverse ways of walking between Duntrune House and The Retreat, we discovered that one of the paths that had been known as a right of way had become rather hidden and obstructed in some places. We are consulting with our Community Council this evening to see how we can progress a clear up.
So far this season, Duntrune House has been the destination for visitors from Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Canada, USA, Belgium, Switzerland, England and Wales. We will shortly be welcoming guests from New Zealand and Japan. It makes for a very lively breakfast table when different nationalities meet up and talk about their various experiences.
February 2009
Well here we are at the start of a new year with the world in a financial turmoil, so we are best to enjoy the world of nature as we look forward to the appearance of snowdrops bravely peeking above ground.
The winter has not been as harsh as expected - so far - and we have been highly entertained by the birds at our feeders. Woodpeckers love the fat balls and blackbirds, robins, dunnocks, bluetits, great tits and coal tits have been joined by flocks of long-tailed tits for mealy worms and mixed seed. Even as I write this the TV weather caster is forecasting heavy snow and icy blasts – ah well! – Spring may be still a distant dream.
The polytunnel is taking shape and we look forward to having our own tomatoes later this year. Andy’s hens are keeping on producing our fresh eggs and hopefully his bees will give us more of the delicious honey we sampled last year.
As this is the year of Homecoming we expect to be hosting many ancestral tourists. We have had great surprises. In July we will have the great grandson of the last Graham owner of Duntrune House, Ida Clementina Lacon. He and his family will be travelling from New Zealand and will meet a lady whose grandmother was the cousin of Ida’s father. We have also had contact from an Australian lady who heard that Olwyn had researched the McIntyre family from Muthill near Crieff. This was a wild goose chase for Olwyn who had been barking up the wrong tree when researching her own family tree – excuse the mixed metaphors! However it’s amazing how every piece of research leads to another connection.
Olwyn has been attending the Tay Roots Committee meetings and is excited about the new ideas for the festival 25th September to October 2nd in Angus and Dundee. Although this is the duration of the core programme there are lots of events taking place before and after. This year there will be more emphasis and opportunities for locals and visitors to share cultural activities as well as more time for visitors to extend their own researches with great help from the enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers at Tay Valley Family History Centre. Building on the recommendations of last year’s visitors, this year should see a much more tailored programme with more choice and more opportunities for visitors to pursue their own particular interests.
The Homecoming is based on the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Robert Burns our national poet. In her teaching Olwyn makes a point of introducing her young pupils to the bard’s work as well to other Scottish poets in particular Violet Jacob and Marion Angus our local poets of Angus.
Another new venture is in the making. We are to offer our visitors an opportunity to have lessons in painting under the nurturing eye of Liz McCarthy, an artist whose sense of colour has become her trademark and whose studio is at the end of our drive.
We will shortly be uploading photos of some of her paintings to our website.
December 2008
For the past few days we have had very cold weather and snow 4 – 5 inches deep. The weather forecast doesn’t look too good for this weekend when we are due to go to Pitlochry Festival Theatre on Sunday for the Annual General Meeting of Scotland’s Best B & Bs. It is always a very enjoyable occasion meeting up with other B & B owners and finding out how their businesses have fared during the summer season. We exchange best practice ideas and are brought up to date with any recent changes in regulations pertaining to B & Bs. This year we are looking at a new logo, brochure and how we can improve the website.
We are still working on our carbon footprint and are experimenting with sending Christmas greetings by email where ever we can. We have calculated that we will save over £100 in postage, which we will give to a nature charity. Recipients can choose whether to print off our card or merely view it on screen.
We are privileged to share your lives and interests even for a short time and are sorry that we can’t always give a timely reply to your news but assure you that we appreciate your feedback
April - November 2008
In April we journeyed to Wales where the whole family met for a Scottish ceilidh to celebrate the life of Andrew, Olwyn’s brother’s eldest child who died suddenly aged 34 on 18th Dec last. Andrew had lived and worked in Wales for a number of years. It was a very successful occasion and one that Andrew would have loved. Many of his colleagues and friends were pleased to have the opportunity to pay tribute to Andrew whom they admired for his intelligence, willingness to share his expertise, his spirit of adventure, his sense of humour and his loyalty.
The month of May saw the preparation of raised vegetable beds and the planting of various crops. The battle of the rabbits is ongoing and so far I think we are slightly ahead on points.
More trees were planted in our little orchard with wire netting barricades which have made a reasonable defence.
Our hopes were dashed for spring onions, onions, garlic etc after a marauding bunch of pigeons pinched the young shoots. We were lucky to have an abundance of salad greens, followed in July and August by big cauliflowers, with close knit, creamy, unblemished florets. They were only rivalled by the enormous red cabbages and sweet beetroot. I’m sure they would have won top prizes at a vegetable show if we hadn’t been so eager to eat them. Courgettes (or zucchinis) were rampant – made into terrines, stews, ratatouille and even cake (as substitute for carrots). Green beans have proved to be winners in the “beat the rabbits” stakes. The late raspberries proved to be better tasting and a heavier cropper than the early ones. We picked the last of them in the middle of October and, along with the brambles and apples are deep frozen to be thawed and savoured in the dark, cold days of January and February. Now the carrots and leeks have come into their own and we are enjoying warming plates of soup. We grew potatoes in polythene sacks and this was so successful we will plant more for next year.
Andy the gardener has been our best investment ever. We have got an excellent composting routine going. A fruit cage is almost ready for blackcurrant, redcurrant, blueberry and gooseberry bushes which will arrive any day now. A poly tunnel will be erected near the back courtyard for growing tomatoes etc Besides all this we have marked out a path in the wet field to make a lovely walk where we will have signs telling you what you might see in the way of birds, wild flowers etc. We have still to make walking boards for the marshiest parts – I sank into an especially boggy spot and had to be rescued leaving behind my Wellington boot.
I must also mention we have had fresh eggs every day from Andy’s chickens. We have even sampled honey from his bees and hope to be able to put this on the breakfast table next season.
We have been busier than ever this year. Ancestral tourism is increasing in popularity. The roots festival in September was generally well received and hopefully any teething difficulties will be addressed before the homecoming version in 2009.
We have a new venture starting in March. We are teaming up with The Retreat Salon (www.theretreatdundee.co.uk) to offer fixed detox and health weeks in March and October and certain weekends in April, May, September, November and January. The Retreat is within 10 minutes walking distance of Duntrune House and is opposite Ballumbie Golf Course. We also hope to offer Yoga sessions on those dates. We feel the “get away from it all” peace and tranquillity of Duntrune is conducive to a successful de – stress experience.
We went to Wales for a week in October and we are using one of our photographs for the Duntrune Christmas Card.
Signing off, 24th November 2008
February 2008
Blue skies, bright sunshine, snowdrops blooming and daffodils fit to burst – welcome to Scotland.
Although we are closed at the moment, we already have quite a number of bookings for the coming months and are almost ready to meet our new guests. During this month we have been spring cleaning. The dining room curtains will be done next week – no mean feat when each of the four curtains is over 3 metres in length and 4 widths, fully lined. Fortunately we have located a firm which will dry clean in situ. Our fingers are crossed that the new kitchen work top will be installed before the beginning of March. More smoke detectors are in place and all the extinguishers have passed their yearly test. We are raring to go!
A number of our guests this year are researching family history and we have been able to find the streets and even sometimes the houses of their ancestors. We have taken photos and sent them off across the world. It is a fascinating hobby. We recently researched our plumber’s family tree and he was amazed to find that he had mostly Irish blood.
Following on from Olwyn’s discovery of Canadian connections towards the end of last year she has discovered that her unknown aunt married for a second time. Now Olwyn is awaiting news about 2 more cousins.
Plans are going well for the Roots Festival 6th – 13th September and it should prove an exciting time for all those with family ties in Angus and Dundee.
Due to several family bereavements the week before Christmas, many of our cards remained unposted, but thank you for all your good wishes. We are slowly managing to respond. It was lovely to hear your news and how the rest of your visit to Scotland went.
We have discovered that 2 groups of visitors have posted lovely comments about us on Trip Advisor. Thank you so much.
Best wishes to you all and happy holidays in 2008.
December 2007
At the beginning of this year I told you about our clan gathering and now I’m looking forward to getting on with more family history research. Great surprises this year. I unexpectedly made contact with the family of my father’s sister. I never knew her as she emmigrated to Canada in the 1920s. Her grandson made a posting on Ancestry.com which I was surfing late one night. I also made contact with a second cousin on my mother’s side. He lives in Edinburgh. I knew my mother had a cousin many years younger but didn’t know where she was or if she had any family, but found a name on the back of an old calendar – just the lucky breaks we family historians are always thrilled to find.
Isn’t it strange how things pile up and you think you’ll never get them done. Then a window of opportunity arises and you get through everything like a hot knife through butter. Well that’s just what has happened. I thought there would be no time to write more in the diary before 2008 but I have had a good excuse to do no housework. The renovations to the bathroom which I unrealistically thought would take 3 weeks are still ongoing after 6 weeks. I see no need to move the accumulated dust around the house so it can stay put till the job is complete. After all it’s as easy to remove the dust of 6 weeks as it is of 3 weeks. The only trouble is we have become so used to it we don’t really notice. Perhaps I should start looking with the eyes of all the relatives and friends who will be arriving in the coming weeks.
Anyway, for once we have Christmas cards ready to send before the last day of posting, I’ve started on the baking and cooking for Hogmanay and New Year’s Day, we are booked to go to the pantomime with our grandsons, drawers and cupboards have been tidied and mountains of rubbish have gone for recycling.
See – it’s only surface mess – and it’ll all be hidden under the decorations – and the presents will be under the tree.
And here’s another opportunity to wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
P.S I’ve just looked at the diary for earlier this year, and notice “plus ça change, plus c’est la mème chose”
November 2007
Where does time go? We didn’t even have time to finish our July diary and here we are in November. Having re-read July’s entry we realise pride comes before a fall. The prospects for the bumper crop of carrots came crashing down one night when the vegetable gate was left slightly ajar and – well you can guess – our “friends” the rabbits couldn’t believe their luck – a midnight feast!
So much has happened in the past few months as we have been busier and busier. Thank you to all our visitors who have recommended us to friends and relatives. We are taking a break during November, December, January and February but already have enquiries for 2008. We are especially looking forward to the Roots Festival in September when we hope many of you will come to walk in the footsteps of your ancestors. Meantime we are refurbishing our own bathroom and having the outside paintwork renewed.
We are still having trouble with the rabbits but Andy the gardener has constructed raised beds and secured fencing round another area so the vegetables are thriving. Raspberry bushes are in place. For the first time ever our quince produced very few fruits, so jelly making this year has not been possible. However a bumper crop of plums from my brother has meant lots of plum jam and plum crumble. A solitary apple from the trees we planted earlier was rather tasty and hopefully we will have a good crop next year.
We have managed to reduce the grey squirrel population as part of a community drive to protect our native red squirrels. It is probably too late to entice the reds back here but we may, through vigilance, help to provide a buffer zone.
Olwyn has also been busy with many new adult pupils, who have come from some distance for voice coaching. She is also involved in running workshops for Voice Care Network UK, mainly for teachers.
The temperature has dropped quite considerably but it is still bright and sunny and the autumn colours are gorgeous. The nights are drawing in but we are enjoying evenings by the log fire planning for next season.
The call of the geese has died away and all that remains is to wish you have a very happy Christmas season and time to plan your next holiday journey. We hope to see you all again.
July 2007
We can’t believe we are now more than half way into our season. We have been so busy that we didn’t manage to write May’s goings-on. Not only are we busy with bed and breakfast, Olwyn has been busy with teaching voice work. A high light was a play by junior pupils – in the lime tree!
Our visitors haven’t had the best of weather but they have been appreciative of our lush greenery. We can’t say we are too enthusiastic at the rate of growth of the weeds - but the rabbits are growing even fatter on the lawn. At least the flower beds are being ignored by them. Unfortunately, the vegetables are not doing well. The sprouting broccoli was a great success, the small turnips are reasonable, the carrots look promising but the beetroot and dwarf beans are so dwarf they barely exist. The lettuce leaves are very tasty. The blueberries have disappeared, the brambles are going wild, the gooseberry bushes have produced some fruit but we ran out of time for the raspberries. The rhubarb is very healthy but we should not pull it until next year. The apple and plum trees are thriving. Hey, it’s not too bad after all. We have had modest success.
A new gardener who has a wonderful organic garden in the village is coming to help and we look forward to spectacular results next year.
We have enjoyed spending time with all our guests. We have been surprised at the number of American visitors considering the exchange rate. It makes it very expensive for them and we can only hope that they feel they have been given value. It has been exciting sharing family history with many of them and finding all sorts of connections. Australia and New Zealand have been well represented. Only today six Australians left to visit the Isle of May where their grandfather had been the lighthouse keeper.
March 2007
Well, here we are in the middle of March having enjoyed a mild winter, to find ourselves with a very cold snap with even slight falls of snow. The other morning we awoke to a winter wonderland but by 10am the sun had “disappeared” it all. This after spending several days shirt sleeved gardening! The weather certainly keeps us guessing.
The snowdrops are going back to rest while blue Scylla, bright yellow daffodils, pink Bergenia and multi-coloured Primroses are giving a beautiful display.
Great tits, blue tits, coal tits, robins, blackbirds, chaffinches, green finches, dunnocks, jays and woodpeckers have been with us throughout the season. The calling of returning geese have been heard high above and we expect to see some more migrant birds returning in the next few weeks. For the first time I spotted a nuthatch climbing the trunk of the willow tree at the front door. Apparently this bird is rarely seen, so I feel very privileged.
Our apple and plum trees are now in situ. Rhubarb, rasps, grozers (gooseberries), brambles (blackberries) and blueberries are awaiting their planting turn.
Once we are sure of no sudden frosts we’ll sow the vegetables.
We are pleased to say that we have now gained a silver award for sustainability.
Since we reopened at the beginning of the month, we have had a steady stream of visitors – some visiting family nearby, some return visitors having a “chill out” break, some visiting Scotland for the first time, some walking in the footsteps of their ancestors – USA, New Zealand, Australia, France, England and Wales have all been represented so far.
Over the next few months we will be welcoming guests from Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and hopefully many other countries. It is certainly an exciting time ahead for us.
Looking forward to meeting you.
January 2007
Celebrations of Christmas, New Year and McRobbie Clan Gathering ( 67 cousins and second cousins getting to know each other) may be over but life at Duntrune House is anything but dull. Although we are closed for B&B until March, we have a different type of guest at the moment – plumbers, plasterers, painters, carpet layers etc making the house more comfortable and beautiful for our guests who are already booking up to stay with us. It is exciting to anticipate meeting new people and welcoming back old friends. We have recently been to a tourism net working event where we heard about future trends for B&B businesses and we are happy to find that we seem to be in tune with what our guests expect – an experience of Scottish life - not just a clean, comfortable place to sleep.
In the garden we are advancing with our project of producing our own vegetables and fruit. The rabbits have so far been foiled in their attempts to sabotage the vegetable plot and we are able to harvest leeks, sprouting broccoli, spring onions and (fingers crossed) cauliflower. Soon it will be time to sow carrots etc. We have identified an area for growing fruit and will be preparing the ground for that. It is a slow process but worth the effort.
Olwyn is busy this month with Addressing the Haggis at Burns Suppers. Many of you have puzzled over the words when having a Scottish meal with us during your stay.
This brings me to the latest news of the Roots Festival in Angus and Dundee. It will take place during the week 6th – 13th September 2008. That may seem a long time away but with guests expected from all over the world it means a lot of planning for travel as well as for the organisers. The festival will have great interest for all those with an ancestral connection to this area but also for anyone wanting to learn about Scottish culture. Visitors will be able to participate in many events and have a real experience of what it means to be Scottish. A dedicated website is in the making and we will give you the URL as soon as it is up and running.
Duntrune House hopes to be a successful player and contributor to this exciting event. Members of Clan Graham may be especially interested as Duntrune House has so many connections with the Graham family.
November 2006
Frae a’ the airts the wind did blaw
Braw guests to us fae far awa’
Forbye they cam frae nearer parts
To share wi’ us the joy o’ their hearts.
Duntrune House has seen mony a day
And now in my little lay
I’ll try to share wi’ you
The passing o’ the year that’s nearly thro’.
Here my muse its wing maun cour
Sic rhyming’s far ayont my power
Rabbie’s talent disna reside in me
So prose will be favoured now by me.
2006 has been a very busy and rewarding year for us. At breakfast or dinner our guests have taken us round the world. Conversations have covered every subject under the sun – from how to cope with marauding squirrels to swapping recipes and concerns about our planet – not to mention sharing passions for history, genealogy, antiques and enjoying each others company.
This year we have had help from a gardener to redo the paths, replant the borders and trim the trees. What a difference that has made! A wonderful view has been opened up over the river .
Olwyn has at last fenced in a patch for vegetables (as defence against the rabbits) and by next year we should have our own organic carrots etc. We have had a fine crop of quinces and Barrie has made many pounds of jelly.
We have fitted a new shower in the pink room and are shortly to be redecorating the bed/sitting room in the self contained flat.
We are continuing to upgrade our green credentials and hope to be awarded a silver standard. We have been very pleased with our guests’ reaction to our Green People toiletries, especially as many of you have read about them in the guest packs and have decided to buy and use them from now on.
Our first guests of 2006 arrived on 2nd January and our last guests leave on 2nd December. However, in future, we have decided to close for the months of November, December, January and February and in line with our sustainability policy we are encouraging guests to stay for a minimum of two nights between March and October. There is so much of interest in this part of Scotland – a hidden gem- and so accessible that guests have regretted the lack of time allowed in their itinerary.
We have had many guests visiting their Scottish roots and it has been great fun unexpectedly discovering links to our own family trees. In addition we have been able to help others get through their “brick wall”. We have gained accreditation for Ancestral Tourism from Visit Scotland. 2008 will see the launching of a Dundee and Angus Roots Festival when we hope to have many more visitors walking in the footsteps of their ancestors – seeing where they lived and the lives they led. 2009 is the Year of the Homecoming when you will be able enjoy events over the whole country – music, dancing, festivals, food, and, of course, drink. It will be a time of proud celebration of all that is Scottish and we hope those of Scottish blood, however remote, will come and connect with those of us still living in this beautiful country.
Nearer in time, 2007 sees the return of the Open Golf Championship to Carnoustie in July. Already most accommodation has been booked up and late bookers are having to find accommodation farther afield. With tourism being one of our biggest “industries” it is a great time for our economy.
For us the joy of running a b&b is meeting all you lovely,interesting people, hearing about your families, your work, your hobbies, your country and indeed your holiday experiences in Scotland.
Thank you for your cards, mementoes, photographs, CDs, tasty bits but most of all for coming to stay with us – haste ye back.
|
